The first meeting of the Victims Trust Fund, an unprecedented initiative by the International Criminal Court (ICC), is due to take place on 20 to 22 April at The Hague. Its aim is to establish a basic modus operandi for the Fund and settle a number of key questions. It is the first time in the history of international courts that a specific mechanism is being set up to compensate victims.

At the same time as the International Criminal Court (ICC) launches its first investigations in Uganda and Congo, the annual Assembly of States parties will be meeting in The Hague from 6 to 10 September. The legal and political body faces the tough challenge of deciding on the 2005 budget. Since the court is beginning to schedule its first trials, this is a critical task.

66.784,200 euros: this was the official budget allocated to the International Criminal Court for 2005 at the close of the Assembly of State Parties held at The Hague from 6 to 10 September. It was a success for those who feared funding cuts. But many participants bitterly lamented the lack of passion that marked the week's meeting.

On December 3, the Assembly of States Parties, meeting in New York, elected three new judges to fill vacant seats on the International Criminal Court (ICC): Frenchman Bruno Cotte and Ugandan Daniel Nsereko, for terms ending in March 2012, and Fumiko Saiga of Japan, for a term ending in March 2009. In early 2008, the 18 ICC judges will elect a new registrar to a five-year term, replacing Frenchman Bruno Cathala who has been registrar since the Court's creation.